Dawson, John Harper, 1905-2002
Biographical Note
John Harper Dawson, the son of John A. and Julia Peters Dawson, grew up in rural southwestern Pennsylvania. Dawson attended the University of Pittsburgh before transferring in 1935 to Adrian College, from which he graduated in 1938. In 1941, Dawson married fellow Adrian alum Virginia Bates; the couple would have two children. Dawson was a 40-year-old Methodist minister in Pittsburgh when he returned to Adrian in 1955 to serve as the college's president. He would hold that position until 1978. Following retirement, Dawson remained active in the community and published two books. John Harper Dawson died on April 20, 2002.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
John Harper Dawson Book Manuscript
The collection contains a typescript draft of John Harper Dawson's Wildcat Cavalry: a Synoptic History of the Seventeenth Virginia Cavalry Regiment of the Jenkins-McCausland Brigade in the War Between the States (published by Morningside House in 1982).